Visiting Cantina Giuseppe Mascarello & Figli is in some ways a bit like traveling back in time: the winery is full of ancient, enormous botti, and though the largest casks are no longer in use, the family traditions still reign. Fermentations are slow, in concrete and steel; aging is long, in large oak botti ranging from 20 to 70 years of age. There are no tricks to doll the wines up. Farming decisions are made with an eye not only to the current vintage, but to future generations of Mascarellos.

However visiting Mascarello isn’t just stepping into the past: a visit is being welcomed into a space where you can feel the profound connection between the present and what has come before, the thread that ties today’s Piedmont to its rich and wonderful history.

Elena and her brother, Giuseppe, are the latest Mascarellos to carry the thread forward, and they're doing it beautifully, which shows in the wines. The family has some of Piedmont's greatest terroirs, including Monprivato (often called “the Musigny of Barolo”). They do what they need to do to allow those terroirs to shine year after year, in each new vintage’s unique voice.

Professional Reviews

What importer Polaner Selections has to say about this wine...

VINEYARD
The Mauro Mascarello family MONPRIVATO vineyard is located in the village of Castiglione Falletto, and is a classic prime medium-hillside site stretching over six hectares (15 acres) at 280 metres above sea level, in the heart of the Barolo wine-growing area. It is historic vineyard, as is confirmed by old land registry archives dating back to 1666.
SOIL
Silty, calcareous, packed with active limestone, composed of blue-grey marl of marine formation from the Helvetian era of the Miocene epoch, Tertiary period.
VITICULTURE
Hand harvested towards the middle of October. Estate-grown bunches thinned during the summer undergo traditional-style, floating cap fermentation for 20/25 days.
VINIFICATION
Estate-grown bunches thinned during the summer undergo traditional-style, floating cap fermentation for 20/25 days.
AGING
The wine is then matured in medium-sized Slavonian oak barrels for around 38 months.